Airship Operation in World War II (ebook)
Airship Operation in World War II
Naval Airship Training Command, Naval Air Station Lakehurst, NJ
Although unequivocally endorsed by the General Board and by the four successive Chiefs of the Bureau of Aeronautics, the US Navy had no definite nonrigid airship or "blimp" program until Congress included in the "10,000 Plane Program" of 15 June 1940, provision for 48 nonrigid airships.
7 December 1941, found an airship organization on paper only, with no Fleet airship unit yet in service.
Thus airships in World War II were confronted with a long stern chase.
Remembering the success of blimps in World War I, commandants of coastal Naval Districts who realized their usefulness, appealed to Washington.
A large scale training program had to be established, not at new training bases, but in conjunction with other activities at two main airship overhaul and operating bases-Moffett Field, California and Lakehurst, New Jersey.
Where used to direct and facilitate rendezvous and formation of convoys, airships commonly saved as many as 12 hours per convoy. By delivery of routing instructions visually, verbally, and by message drops, blimps made possible the effecting of rendezvous as far as 90 miles from port where previously such jobs had been done laboriously by surface craft only 15 miles out. Also, similar use of airships for convoy control and supervision saved many days shipping time in directing convoy break-offs and individual ships to a join-up with scheduled convoys, thereby eliminating the necessity of bringing such vessels into congested harbors to await subsequent sailings.
Airships are again proving of valuable assistance in mine-sweeping activities in opening harbors and channels, and in directing the sweeping of great mine fields laid during the war. Hovering overhead, the airship can sight and warn sweeping vessels against floating mines they might not see. And in some waters, mines anchored beneath the surface and even sunken mines can be sighted from the leisurely moving airship. Important also is the usefulness of the blimp as a vantage point from which the training officer can observe and guide the practical training of his surface sweeping vessels.
Because of their ability to cruise safely at low altitudes and appropriate speeds, airships have been of material value in aiding in expeditious recovery of experimental and training torpedoes fired by underwater, surface and aircraft. This assistance has speeded up such programs as well as aided in recovery of many valuable torpedoes.
59 pages – in English – PDF to download